Broken
by JinxMagic
Summary: A short story about Doug Rattmann and his fight to regain memories that he has lost over the years. As his mind fills with with incomplete days and moments he knows he needs to find someone to jog his mind and prove that his brain is not broken. A quickly written story which ideal for a quick Portal fix. Set after Portal.


Broken

The young brunette woman walked with her muscles tensed. Mr Johnson hadn't called in days and she'd thought she'd better check in. The other 'women' at the desks looked up. Many had glowing, emotionless eyes that stared right through her. One of the few humans looked up and smiled.

"Morning Caroline!" Beverly had her hair pinned up into a neat bun and she had clearly just touched up her lipstick. Small flecks of red showed on her white teeth making her look like one of the creatures they created down in the labs.

"Morning…" Caroline replied back. The nervous twang in her voice was not unnoticeable.

"Mr Johnson?" Caroline nodded.

"He's been shut up in his office for days and hasn't made a single call. I just wanted to make sure, better safe than sorry." She let out a nervous laugh and then Caroline hurried along the corridor to Mr Johnson's office. She knocked once before entering.

"Cave I-" The shrill scream echoed off the walls as the men in white came to take her away.

"She's awake you know." The ragged man sat up and looked at the box that rested near his 'bed'.

"How long have I been out?" The man got up and stretched as he spoke.

"No idea. The computers are all over the place."

"Oh." As his vision returned he could see several vines had grown their way through the various nooks and crannies in the room which his glass box stood. The room smelt damp. _Something's gone wrong. _He thought. He replayed the last thing that happened before he fell asleep. _Of course, SHE's dead._

"We better get out of here. Or we may be battered to death."

"Right then." The man picked up the few things that remained. His paint pallet and brushes and his final can of beans. "Ready?" Without any reply from his companion he began strapping the cube to his body and when he was done he slipped under the loose tiles. Then the room began to shake.

"Hurry!" The man hurtled himself down the dark chamber yet he was still flung to the ground. When the dust cleared, he could just see that the way back was blocked.

"No turning back now."

The pair travelled for hours, freezing every time the walkway shook beneath them.

"Stop!" The man turned his head to the box on his back.

"What is it?"

"Turrets." The man let out an annoyed sigh. But the single word made his stomach twist in terror.

"Just what we need. How many?"

"Four, they're blocking the passage way. We'll have to turn back." He turned quickly and ran down another walkway to the side. Without warning the floor beneath them caved in and the two were flung into the abyss below.

"Let go of me!" The men did not falter and continued to drag the kicking, screaming Caroline down the metallic corridors. "Please, just let me go!" She became more and more desperate because in the depths of her mind she knew exactly what had happened and what was going to happen.

"Quiet he doesn't want to hear you scream." One of the men said to her. She looked up.

"Who are you talking about?" Her voice was high pitched in anxiety. Her eyes were wide and her heart thumping with fear.

"In time my dear." A single beep and a clunk followed by a hiss signified they had arrived at their destination. The men pulled her up right and let go.

"Welcome to your new home." Caroline stared in horror at the darkened white shape.

"NO!" She screamed and turned to run only to see the doors slam and lock shut, sealing her in.

"Don't worry my gem. It only hurts a fraction." Caroline recognised the voice so well. She didn't want it to be true. But it was.

The dark consumed him, making him unsure whether he was really awake.

"He'll change you know." The man darted back, getting as far away from the smooth voice as possible. "He won't be able to stop." As his eyes adjusted to the dark he could make out a single oval shape. The little light that came from the cracked eye piece flickered. The faded coloured light gave the pit an ominous red glow.

"Who?" The man crawled towards the shape, wincing as shards of metal and glass stuck into his skin.

"Her friend. The core. He will try and help but he will not give up. Then she'll find the answer. The answer beneath us."

"When will this happen?"

"3600, 3599, 3598, 3597…" The turret continued. _A countdown._

"Just under an hour." The man murmured. "Less than an hour to find the main chamber and I don't know where the hell I am. Well, no time to waste." With that he set off to the unknown, desperately looking for the only companion he would have in this hell hole.

End of chapter

"Hello." Doug shook. The voice rattled his bones, echoed in his chest. He placed his shaking hand inside his lab coat pocket, feeling the familiar shape of the bottle gave him some comfort, but he still felt his heart leaping out of his chest. _Breath, _he thought.

"Don't panic, must not panic." He told himself. "It'll be fine." A middle-aged man walked up to him, he looked like just your average guy except for a small scar that ran across the side of his neck.

"Okay Dr. Jey, you can turn her off now!" A man, presumably Dr. Jey gave a thumbs up in reply. The hum of machinery stopped. The first man turned back. "You must be Dr. Doug Rattmann, unusual name." They shook hands.

"Yes, yes it is." Doug replied. "Please, Doug will be fine. I don't bother with the formal stuff." He added.

"Alright then Doug, welcome to Aperture Science."

He ran. His breaths became ragged and irregular. As he approached a junction he spotted a sign. "Main Chamber, this way." _Perfect. _He thought and began to turn but he stopped in dismay as he saw that the walkway was gone. He sighed and kicked his can of beans to the ceiling. The tile lifted with an audible clunk.

"What are you doing?" The voice thundered in his head. It was HER. Ever since he had heard _her_ voice his schizophrenia had become more and more advanced. There was something too familiar about it. "You think you're helping her, well trying to anyway. But you'll fail. Your brain doesn't work remember. You were a loser from the start. How's your leg?" She'd continued but so had he. He was now in air duct, crawling.

"Doug Rattmann. What a stupid name. Like Chell, that's a stupid name. You both are complete morons and what's worse is that you think you're clever. But you're not. Do you ever wonder why her surname was redacted?" Doug stopped. "Because they were scared. Scared you would remember." The voice fizzled out. Then he began to sob. Uncompleted memories filled his head. They flashed. Deaths, running, Chell. He screamed.

"WHO ARE YOU?!" He knew he had lost control, but he didn't care. He couldn't take it anymore. He closed his eyes and curled up into a ball. He didn't come out and soon he was in a strange semi-conscious state.

"You'll be based in the main chamber for most of your time, for the next few months at least. Oh here's your pass card. Has someone shown you to your apartment?" Doug was clipping his card to his coat as he spoke.

"Oh sorry, yeah." Another member joined them, a woman this time. Dr. Hartley Evans- Doug's new friend it seemed- turned.

"Oh Clarissa!" He coughed and lowered the slight nervous tone in his voice. "Um Doug please meat Dr. Clarissa Smith. She's been with us for a year now after she left those bastards at Black Mesa." Dr. Smith rolled her eyes.

"Hartley, they're not that bad." Her accent was English. She was fairly normal, brown hair, hazel eyes. To be frank there was nothing 'special' about her. Doug let out a hand.

"Nice to meet you, are you?"

"Yes, I'm English grew up in London, studied in Oxford. " Doug nodded. They released hands, out of the corner of his eye Doug saw Hartley relax slightly, as if he had been tensed up. He let out a slight cough, unlocking their gaze.

"Well we better be off. Come Doug, I still need to show you your lab."

The lab had a strong smell of disinfectant and chemicals. Various stains of various colours coated the walls and surfaces. It wasn't exactly what Doug was used to but he assumed he'd adjust to it. The lab was empty apart from a man who was perched on the edge of a chair muttering things to himself. Hartley coughed and the man turned. He must have been in his fifty's with thinning grey hair and slightly wrinkled face.

"Dr. Marcus, this is Dr. Doug Rattmann. He will be working with you." Dr. Marcus's face lit up with a huge grin.

"What a pleasure to meet you!" Doug gave an uneasy smile. If you wanted a mad scientist this was your man. As the man came closer Doug could see Dr. Marcus was slightly discoloured. On his face he was pale but his hands and fore-arms were slightly green. "Occupational hazard." Doug looked up, he had noticed him.

"Well I'll leave you to get settled in. Testing begins in ten minutes."

"Goodbye Dr. Evans." Doug cleared his throat. "Right, this is your desk. I've got some things you can start with all laid out so start when you're ready." Doug walked over to his desk and examined the files.

"Repulsion gel?" Dr. Marcus turned on his chair.

"Yeah it's amazing stuff. They're thinking about bringing the gels back into testing so we need to see what we can swap the deadly toxins with." The two returned to work. Doug started by looking at what needed to be replaced. Some of the chemicals he's never even heard of. He tried to make sense of it, looking at the formulas but none were connecting properly. He opened the bottle and swallowed a pill, hoping that the medicine would help him put something together.

"You got a family Doug? I can call you Doug right?" Doug looked up from the swirling text.

"Yeah, to both, I have a daughter. Her Mother went missing while she was working here so they offered me a new job. If they didn't I expect I'd end up in something like medical research." Dr. Marcus nodded.

"Are you going to bring her to 'Bring your daughter to work day'?" Doug but down his pen. "It's Friday the thirteenth, it's supposed to be great fun. The kids do a project and get to see what we do here." Doug thought about it for a minute.

"I guess. She's been shutting herself in her room a lot. It'll be good for her to meet some new people." A siren drowned out the last few words and when Doug opened his eyes he was back in the air duct with the alarm ringing in his ears.

"Corrupted core, are you ready to start the procedure?" Doug was crawling as fast as he could. He had to stop her. He could hear the two robots arguing.

"Stalemate detected. Transfer procedure cannot continue… Unless a stalemate associate is present to press the stalemate resolution button." The voices got louder.

"Press the button!"

"NO! Do NOT press that button!" He was so close. He could feel the vibrations of the transfer bay opening, he sped up.

"Wait what if this hurts? What if this REALLY hurts? Ohhh I didn't think of that." It was getting too close to the end. He had to hurry. As he reached the final corridor he could hear the desprate screams of the machine that had tormented him.

"I'm too late." He kicked the ceiling panel down and began sprinting towards the main chamber. He had to see her, one last time.

"Wowwwww! Check me out, partner!" He looked at the door. It would be locked. Locked until the new core, whoever it was, unlocked it. He sprinted towards one of the computers. _There has to be an override. _He thought over and over again. As he typed furiously he could hear the unusually human banter that had flowed through the door. The code finally corrected and the door began to slowly ease open.

"One last time Chell, one last time." Doug whispered. The door stopped half-open. Doug couldn't see who was in control but if he kneeled he could see the lift climbing.

"Actually, why do we have to leave right now?" The lift lowered. "Do you have any idea how good this feels? I did this! Tiny little Wheatley did this!" Wheatley. That name. It was so familiar to Doug. But who was he? Suddenly he remembered. It flashed through his mind. He was a janitor at the facility, completely unnoticed. Never cared about, never anything special and there he was, mad with power.

"You didn't do anything. She did all the work." Doug knew exactly who 'she' was. He watched as he heard the terrifying machine being dragged away and 'Wheatley looked at her. Chell. The person who had changed his life forever, he accused her of being selfish. But Doug knew that that was not the girl he had watched grow up.

"See that? That is a potato battery. It's a toy for children and now she lives in it." The laugh echoed in his mind

"I know you." As GLaDOS told his story he could remember. Remember Wheatley the janitor going missing and suddenly a new 'intelligence dampening sphere' appeared for her. Doug never thought anything of it. People went missing all the time. It was part of the Aperture Science way of life.

"You aren't just a regular moron. You were DESIGNED to be a moron."

"I am NOT! A MORON!" Doug's head snapped up at the sound of glass breaking.

"YES YOU ARE! YOU'RE THE MORON THEY BUILT TO MAKE ME AN IDIOT!"

"Well, how about now? NOW WHO'S A MORON?" More glass shattered. "Could a MORON! PUNCH! YOU! INTO! THIS! PIT! Huh? Could a moron do THAT?" The elevator vanished from view. "Uh oh." Doug heard the final pieces of glass collapse and decided he couldn't take it anymore. He'd been running too much. Running made him loose her. Again and again. He'd promised Mr Johnson that she would be safe and now she was gone.

EOC

He slid under the door and ran into the main chamber. His heart thudded, leaping out of his chest. He had no plan, nothing to fight with, nothing to defend himself with, nothing. He had to rely on his brain and even that was failing him. He took out his wallet and took out the photo that was tucked right at the back. There she was, young and beautiful. Her dark hair was tied up and there she stood, in front of her project. Proud to be there. She was grinning. Doug closed his eyes and remembered that moment. When he really felt like her father.

"I'm sorry." He said and threw the wallet on the floor, still clutching the crumpled photo.

"Who are you?" The core looked at him with his blue optical. The man stood square to him.

"I am Doug Rattman. That poor girl you sent down there was MY daughter. You are a moron if you thought that THAT was a good idea." Wheatley laughed. Doug felt scared but the adrenalin that created the 'fight or flight' reaction was powering him to fight.

"Humans, they're so thick! What are YOU going do to ME?" Doug smirked.

"I have hacked into the facility's mainframe. The nuclear core is going to overheat, blowing you and this whole place to smithereens."

"And what if SHE is still alive? Did you think about that?" Doug looked at the picture once again.

"I'd rather her be dead than be stuck down there for the rest of her life. The things I've seen down there…" Wheatley made a fake yawn.

"Yeah yeah. Look, just stand there." Doug remained still, constantly looking at the photograph.

"Target acquired." Doug closed his eyes and let the memory fill his mind.

"Here we are sweetie." Doug took Chell's hand as they walked towards the door.

"Welcome to Aperture Science's first annual 'Bring Your Daughter to Work Day'!" A female scientist was sat at the main desk. "Can I have your names please?"

"Doug Rattman and this is my daughter, Chell." The blonde woman smiled.

"In you go. Have a great day!" The doors swung open and Doug guided Chell through the various corridors. Instead of the usual grey paint the walls were covered in posters. Some were promoting various products while others showed new projects that the company were working on. They walked into one of the main offices. Chell tugged on Doug's lab coat.

"Dad, what's Neurotoxin?" Doug coughed and instead of answering pulled Chell along a little faster.

The room had been transformed. Many projects were already set up with eager girls stood by. They were greeted by a blonde man who went by the name of Professor Maxwell.

"So you must be Chell." Chell nodded, she then turned and began setting up her project. "Great a potato battery!" Prof. Maxwell added with fake enthusiasm.

"Aw come on Paul, they're only kids." Doug said while he was holding up the board for Chell.

"I know I know. Well see you for the grand switch on!" Doug watched him walk away.

"Dad! You're holding it wrong!" He turned.

"Oh sorry honey, how's it going?" Chell tapped her chin.

"It's not turning on. Do you have a pen?" Doug handed her one from his pocket and watched as she began to wiggle it into one of the holes and then connect some of the wires. Suddenly the potato fizzled and the light came on. "Perfect."

"Ladies and gentlemen I would like you to come and join us in the main chamber for the full power up of our Genetic Lifeform and Disk Operating System! Or GLaDOS as we call her."

The room smelt clean for once. Every surface had been perfectly wiped and bleached. There she was, the project that had taken over twenty years to complete. Finally it was done. But Doug was still unsure about it working. The last few tests went wrong, badly wrong. She'd been on for the last three weeks and Doug knew exactly what _she _had. _She _had an experiment planned and Doug knew it could only go one way. Chell looked up and smiled. Doug gave a shaky smile back. Speech after speech followed, telling how each core was made-not why though- and how they ended up with GLaDOS who would help manage the facility after the dear Cave Johnson passed away.

"I want to thank you all who worked on her and all of you young people who will help forward the cause of science." The man walked over to the button and Doug grabbed Chell's hand just as his finger fell on the button. The lights flickered for a second and suddenly the hanging figure rose.

"Hello everyone." People cheered and clapped but Doug stood absolutely still. "I would like to welcome to Aperture Science and like you to take part in an experiment. I'd like you to take a breath and hold it." Various gasps came from everyone. Doug moved slowly back, towards the door dragging Chell with him. The neurotoxin flooded in through the vents. He turned to run but the doors were already sliding closed.

"Come on Chell!" He pulled her towards the door. More and more people were dropping to the floor. The pair slid under just in time along with a few others. "Run! Just keep running!" Doug told Chell.

"Where are we going?" She could barely keep up with Doug's long stride.

"We're getting out and driving as far away as possible." Soon they were on they're alone many had consumed some of the gas and would soon be dead. Doug looked up and saw the green gas seeping through one of the air vents. Suddenly he stopped.

"What is it Dad?" Doug sighed and knelt down, taking Chell by the shoulders.

"Listen to me Chell. Run. Run as fast as you can and try and find your way to the exit. Then once you're out run along the road." He handed her a few coins. "Get on a bus to anywhere away from here. Doesn't matter where just get out." Chell shook her head.

"But what about you? I'm not leaving without you Dad!" Tears were welling up in her eyes.

"I'm sorry Chell but it's your only hope." He kissed her on her fore-head. "It's okay. I know you'll never give up." Chell nodded and then began running down the corridor. She turned one last time and gave a quick wave, tears streaming down her face. Doug waved in reply and blew a kiss towards her. She weakly caught it and held it to her chest and then began running again.

"Did you think you could save her that easily?" Doug ignored her taunts and focused on what mattered. Running. He ran for hours up and down, trying every door with little success. He didn't know what he was looking for but he knew he would know it when he found it. "I have her. Go see yourself." He stopped and looked at the testing relaxation centre computers. Several were activated and most with the age persevering system offline. She had got children. Defenceless children. Doug checked the names. There she was, Chell. _It's my only hope of seeing her again. _Doug thought. He began cancelling the system when he suddenly felt a ringing in his head. He collapsed to the ground, his head still spinning.

END

Epilogue

Wheatley floated. He looked at the stars and then at the Earth. He thought about that man. Doug. He was so… Brave. Wheatley wished he could've been like him. He didn't know why it was just that if he had been brave enough to maybe negotiate instead being stupid and reckless, maybe he'd be still on Earth.

"!" Wheatley sighed. He was stuck in space. At first he was angry, furious. But that anger soon turned into fear. He didn't know how long he would be stuck in orbit with the idiot that was screaming in his head. Usually he'd be annoyed, screaming back at the little ball, but this time it was different. He didn't feel anything just, guilt.

"I'm sorry. I don't know how many times I could say it and it will never make it better. But I am sorry." He'd apologised so many times but he still felt awful." I'm apologising to thin air. Well extremely thin air. Oh I wish someone would listen. Know that I am sorry! Tell her that I'm sorry." Wheatley suddenly felt static enter his head. He didn't like it, it was uncomfortable.

"It's okay moron. You're forgiven."


End file.
